A Tale of Two Paramilitaries The Political Economy of Local Paramilitary Rule in the Magdalena Medio, Colombia

This essay analyzes the emergence of different forms of paramilitary rule in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia. The Magdalena Medio was home to the most notoriously successful anti-insurgent paramilitary movement of the Colombian conflict. By the late 1980s, paramilitary forces had violently evicted leftist insurgents, and had begun constructing a model anti-revolutionary order. However, within this economically diverse region that spans four departments and 29 municipalities, paramilitary rule varied significantly, particularly between rural and urban zones. The emergence of distinct models of paramilitary rule is puzzling given the strong organizational ties that connected Magdalena Medio paramilitary leaders. The object of this analysis is to explain this variation with a comparison of paramilitary rule in two Magdalena Medio municipalities: urban Puerto Boyacá and rural Puerto Triunfo. I argue that local variation in paramilitary rule is primarily due to political, economic and class structural differences between urban and rural zones.